St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-09-03
MARY SYLVESTER'S LEAP.
Her Hard Fight For Virtue Stirs the
Public Heart Of Minneapolis to
Sympathy.
Some Corrections and Additional State.
ments Concerning Murry's Dark
Deed Against the Girl.
He Attacks Her Character in His
Defense, But Facility Admits
the Assault.

AS predicted, when the public yester-
day became acquainted with the partic
ulars of Mary Sylyester's leap into the
dark from the third story of an assigna-
ton house to preserve her virtue, indig-
nation rose to fever heat. The affair
was the talk of the streets at an early
hour, and all day long. Vehement eX-
preSSiOnS of deteStation and hatred were
coupled with the name of Lou hurry,
Che man who is charged with enticing
her to the room at the Central house,
where he assaulted her. That individ-
ual, after spending the night in cell at
the central station and consulting a
lawyer, concluded to talk little and
give his side of the story. He said the
girl came to his bureau of intelligence
in the morning, when he hired her to
work in his Office for her board and 81 a
week, with promise of an increase of
wages, and that she conducted herself
little bit ''off.' He invited her to 90 to
the dime museum with him, and she
readily accepted his invitation. About
II o'clock they went to Mrs. Sawyer'S
Central house at LIZ Third street south
Here he registered as IF. Franklin and
wife" in plain sight, and afterwards
when they had reached the room he
went down stairs after some drinking
water and was gone five or six minutes,
SO she
MIGHT HAVE ESCAPED
if she had chosen. She allowed him to
caress her with freedom, but when he
proposed they should sleep together
she refused, unless he would promise to
marry her the next day. While he
admits struggling with her, he claims
he did not use great force in his attempt
to accomplish his purpose, and finally
said he would not urge her any more.
He suggested that if they should leave
the place at that time of night it might
compromise her, and that they had
better remain there until morning. She
assented to this and he remained ON
the bed while she sat down i'm a chair
After awhile he was awakened by hear
ing her walking around land asked what
the matter was, when she answered
that she was warm and was going to sit
at the window. She sat down on the
sill, and moment later he
heard slight noise, and looking
up saw that she was gone. He heard a
crash in the court below. followed by
scream. He got up and, going down
stairs, ran around to where she lay and
helped to carry her to the sidewalk.
She chung to him, and when he wanted
to go for doctor, begged him not to
leave her. This rather plausible story
is eOrroborated by Mrs. Sawyer, the
landlady, and several women living in
that OF adjoining buildings They all
claim to be
EXTREMELY LIGHT SLEEPERS;
easily awakened, but heard no sounds
Of struggle. Their stories all tend in
the same directiOn-to clear the reputa-
ton of the house. The landlady says
that hurry, whom she knew as Frank
Hn," arranged the night before for the
room, to be occupied by himself and
wife. A Mrs. Miller, who rents rooms
in an adjoining building, occupied
room just across the lit
tie court, and although the
rooms were only fifteen feet apart,
she heard no sound of struggle. A
young girl whose room is on the other
side of the court heard no sound of
Scuffie previous to the fall. People who
knew Mary Sylvester when She worked
at the Pleasant View house at Excelsior
are highly indignant at the statement of
Murry. and claim that his story about
the girl is prepOSterous. Some others
seem to feel that she is in manner
to- blame, as she must certainly
ftage understood that ITO good could
come from visit to aroOm in business
block at a late hour with man whom
she had known only few hours. Girls
who work in hotel dining rooms gener-
ally gather enough experience by OBJ
SerYation to understand how to take
care of themselves. A person who is
keen Judge of human nature and who
boarded at the Pleasant View house,
said last night, Il was at the hotel
where Mary, or Mamie as we called
her, worked. The hotel is, in reality,
A FAMILY BOARDING HOUSE,
which has for its guests some of the best
people in Minneapolis. Mr.. Page and
his wife are excellent people and seemed
to regard her as member of the family.
| watched her closely and with some
little admiration, for she was by all odds
the prettieSt girl in the house, not except
ing the young lady bOarderS. She had a
pure complexion, almost devoid of color,
which seemed to be intensified in its
clearness by her dark hair and eyes.
Her face seemed almost sad, and she
rarely talked to the boarderS. remem-
Der that there were four young men, one
of them an attorney, who seemed to be
vieing with each other in their efforts to
win smile or word from her, but she
paid them little or no attention.
While she was waiting on the table
in a hotel she was as carefully taken
care Of and had as good influences as if
she were in the most refined family i'm
the city. She was as perfectly unso-
phiSticated in the ways of wickedness
as any young girl would be who had
been tenderly reared. l think she re-
garded hurry as business man, and,
as she was accustomed only to gentle
men, the thought that he meant to harm
her probably never entered her innocent
head.
PAGES STORY.
f. IL. Page, the proprietor of the hotel,
says: MARY and her sister came to
work for me in May last. Their home
is in Little Falls, MINI. Mary was head
dining-rOom girl. She is nineteen wears
old and one of the prettiest girls lever
saw. She is thoroughly good girl.
would stake my life on her purity and
good character. She was modest and
nnassuming, and for the four months
that she worked for me never knew of
her being guilty of any unladylike
action. She never went out at night. but
devoted all of her leisure time to
reading. Her sterling worth and
1ovable disposition caused my wife
and | to think as much of her
as ifshe had been our own daughter
She was ambitious and wanted to rise
ito "a higher position-for which her
abilities fitted her. She wished to OBJ
tain office work or position as sales
~onian where she would have an Oh
portanity to advance. To that end she
came to Minneapolis last Thursday and
went to this employment agency. lie
hextday l came to the city. l went to
the employment bureau and they said
she had not been there and that they
knew nothing about it. That night her
sister received a telegram from DIR.
Kilyhgton saying that Mary was dan